Museum of Glass, Tacoma, by Arthur Erickson (photo by Andrew Albertson)One of the people that most influenced my core values regarding architecture and urban design – Arthur Erickson – died Wednesday at the age of 84.
As I mentioned in my March 28, 2009 blog post, Erickson was unquestionably Canada’s greatest architect of the 20th century. It is not an exaggeration to say that he was as important to modern architecture in Canada as his American contemporaries were collectively in the United States(1). I had the great fortune to have spent some time with the man at the height of his powers, working as a practicum student in the Vancouver office of Arthur Erickson Architects in 1979.
Years ago, Philip Johnson praised Erickson as one of the most talented architects in the world. However, Johnson wryly noted that Erickson’s fame was largely confined to Canada because he lived and worked “in a province of a province of the United States.”(2) Today, most American architects and students of architecture know little, if anything at all, about his design philosophy and influence. I predict that with his passing Erickson’s work will acquire a new audience as the importance of his legacy to architecture is remembered.
(1) I would number Gordon Bunshaft, Philip Johnson, Anthony Lumsden, Walter Netsch, Cesar Pelli, I.M. Pei, Kevin Roche, Paul Rudolph, and Minoru Yamasaki among Erickson’s American peers.
(2) Erickson’s practice and home life were centered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Up until recently, Canada’s political, cultural, and financial centers of power were primarily located in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For many Canadians, British Columbia was an easily ignored and pleasant backwater, hence a “province of a province of the United States.”
As I mentioned in my March 28, 2009 blog post, Erickson was unquestionably Canada’s greatest architect of the 20th century. It is not an exaggeration to say that he was as important to modern architecture in Canada as his American contemporaries were collectively in the United States(1). I had the great fortune to have spent some time with the man at the height of his powers, working as a practicum student in the Vancouver office of Arthur Erickson Architects in 1979.
Years ago, Philip Johnson praised Erickson as one of the most talented architects in the world. However, Johnson wryly noted that Erickson’s fame was largely confined to Canada because he lived and worked “in a province of a province of the United States.”(2) Today, most American architects and students of architecture know little, if anything at all, about his design philosophy and influence. I predict that with his passing Erickson’s work will acquire a new audience as the importance of his legacy to architecture is remembered.
(1) I would number Gordon Bunshaft, Philip Johnson, Anthony Lumsden, Walter Netsch, Cesar Pelli, I.M. Pei, Kevin Roche, Paul Rudolph, and Minoru Yamasaki among Erickson’s American peers.
(2) Erickson’s practice and home life were centered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Up until recently, Canada’s political, cultural, and financial centers of power were primarily located in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For many Canadians, British Columbia was an easily ignored and pleasant backwater, hence a “province of a province of the United States.”
2 comments:
Hi Randy,
Thank you for posting this article about Arthur Erickson.
I have always wondered why he was not more known even in the NW US.
What books of his would you recommend?
Cheers!
Kate Haley
katherinelhaley@gmail.com
Kate:
The following books immediately come to mind (both of which I own and can recommend):
The Architecture of Arthur Erickson (this was a monograph produced by Erickson's firm):
https://www.amazon.com/architecture-Arthur-Erickson/dp/0887760600/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3E59KR5LUDP33&keywords=arthur+erickson&qid=1643581665&s=books&sprefix=arthur+erickson%2Cstripbooks%2C132&sr=1-1
Seven Stones: A Portrait of Arthur Erickson, Architect
https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Stones-Portrait-Erickson-Architect/dp/0920080138/ref=sr_1_9?crid=3E59KR5LUDP33&keywords=arthur+erickson&qid=1643581726&s=books&sprefix=arthur+erickson%2Cstripbooks%2C132&sr=1-9
The only reason I can think of why Erickson wasn't more widely regarded outside of Canada was because he, as Philip Johnson said, "lived and worked “in a province of a province of the United States.” Aside from the pioneering European modernists, U.S. architectural historians and critics tend to undervalue contributions of the other significant non-American architects who may have helped shape entire movements in architecture.
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